Spring: The best and worst of times for travelers

Outlook for spring travel season

Hawaii fares as low as $337 roundtrip from Bay Area in May. Picture: Polihale State Park beach on the west side of Kauai

Hawaii fares as low as $337 roundtrip from Bay Area in May....

Travelers will soon be breaking out of the winter doldrums and looking ahead to the popular spring travel season in March and April. If you are planning to take a spring trip now is the time to make those reservations.

Keep this in mind as you make plans this year: Late March is usually the busiest time of year for collegiate Spring break, and April is more popular with families traveling around Easter. But in 2018, Easter is early (April 1) so the last week in March will be crazy with both family and collegiate spring breakers hitting the roads and skies and bumping up airfares, hotels and rental car rates.

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So those planning to travel in late March need to be on alert for high prices and surprise crowds at airports, especially if you live in or near a college town OR if you are headed to a warm weather destination like Florida, Mexico or the Caribbean.

Find out when the university nearest you has spring break (see calendar by school here) and stay home that weekend! Business travelers should plan business trips before or after the two weeks around Easter.

Ski season has been mostly lackluster in California and across the American west-- there's just enough snow to attract an abundance of skiers. But there's still time for a good dump-- and that could happen in the next few weeks. Or not.

One-day lift tickets at Vail this year are $164. At Squaw Valley: $158. Ouch! If you feel priced out of skiing this winter, consider taking a trip in early April (if there's snow) when you'll find cheaper fares, deals on lift tickets, and lots of end-of-season fun and festivities.

April-June

There's a silver lining to an early Easter, though, which is a much longer "shoulder season" when demand dips along with prices. Shoulder season in 2018 will run almost 10 weeks from early April until mid-June when peak summer pricing and crowds kick in. (Except of course Memorial Day weekend, May 26-28, 2018).

Shoulder season is not as cheap as the dead weeks of early January, but it's not anywhere near the peak of what you'll pay during July or August. For example, I'm looking at fares of just $337 between the Bay Area and Hawaii in May.

Shoulder season is probably the very best time of year to travel to Europe because the weather is getting warmer and summer crowds have not arrived. This is when new low fare carriers like Norwegian and WOW Air offer super low fares which are frequently matched by the majors. Hotels are cheaper, too. And there are flowers blooming and smiles on the faces of locals.

It's also a very nice time to see Mexico– especially Mexico City- here's my take on the magnificent Mexican megalopolis!